 Welding technology the key to quality titanium
products
A
high quality method of welding titanium is reducing by 24-fold the time
the process takes - opening new opportunities in Australia for producing
cost-effective, welded titanium pipes.
The revolutionary
keyhole gas-tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process, developed jointly by
CSIRO and the Cooperative Research Centre for Welded Structures, has been
refined to enable joining of titanium alloys up to 14mm thick.
Using a torch
designed to produce and maintain a 'keyhole' at the joint, the process
enables full penetration of the metal, square-edge preparation, use of
conventional power sources and minimal handling of the materials.
CSIRO's Dr Laurie
Jarvis says: "Joints can be made in a single pass with no requirement for
the addition of filler, resulting in reduced risk of contamination and the
potential for a more cost effective and productive process than the
current multi-pass GTAW and plasma technology."
The benefits of the
new process also include a huge reduction in welding time.
"An Australian
company has reduced the time it took to weld titanium tubes from over
eight hours to approximately 20 minutes," says Dr Jarvis, who is Team
Leader, Advanced Joining.
The Light Metals
Flagship is drawing on CSIRO's expertise in engineering and manufacturing
to develop a number of novel forming techniques, such as the keyhole GTAW
process, to support the establishment of a titanium manufacturing industry
in Australia.
Welding expertise is
also being applied to enhance the productivity and product quality in
joining aluminium.
CONTACT:
Laurie.Jarvis@csiro.au
Ph +61 8 8303
9171
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The Light Metals Flagship is a CSIRO
initiative and part of the National Research Flagships program that aims
to deliver scientific solutions to advance Australia's most important
national objectives. One of the largest scientific initiatives ever
mounted in Australia, it aligns closely with the Federal Government's
National Research Priorities. The initiative brings
together our national research resources to deliver breakthroughs in
fields ranging from healthcare to light metals and the
environment.